Pellegrini charged over referee criticism

UEFA have charged Manuel Pellegrini following his post-match comments about Swedish referee Jonas Eriksson on Tuesday.

Published

21 February 2014

Following a 2-0 UEFA Champions League defeat to Barcelona, Pellegrini was critical of Eriksson's performance after he gave the Spanish champions a penalty in the first half, despite Martin Demichelis' foul on Lionel Messi appearing to have been committed outside the area.

Pellegrini claimed Eriksson "was not impartial", stated it was "not a good idea" to put a Swedish referee in charge of such a high-profile game and also suggested Eriksson was making amends for a decision given against Barca in their quarter-final clash with Milan last season.

Despite apologising for his comments on Friday, explaining he was "angry" and "frustrated", UEFA have confirmed they will charge the Chilean with a "violation of the general principles of conduct".

"Following an investigation by the UEFA disciplinary inspector, UEFA has today opened disciplinary proceedings against Manuel Pellegrini concerning the press interviews given to media," read a statement from the organisation.

"The Manchester City coach is charged with violation of the general principles of conduct (Art.11 of the 2013 UEFA Disciplinary Regulations).

"The case will be dealt with by the UEFA Control and Disciplinary Body on Friday 28 February."